Delineating cathodic extracellular electron transfer pathways in microbial electrosynthesis: Modulation of polarized potential and Pt@C addition

Abstract

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is an innovative technology that employs microbes to synthesize chemicals by reducing CO2. A comprehensive understanding of cathodic extracellular electron transfer (CEET) is essential for the advancement of this technology. This study explores the impact of different cathodic potentials on CEET and its response to introduction of hydrogen evolution materials (Pt@C). Without the addition of Pt@C, H2-mediated CEET contributed up to 94.4 % at −1.05 V. With the addition of Pt@C, H2-mediated CEET contributions were 76.6 % (−1.05 V) and 19.9 % (−0.85 V), respectively. BRH-c20a was enriched as the dominated microbe (>80 %), and its relative abundance was largely affected by the addition of Pt@C NPs. This study highlights the tunability of MES performance through cathodic potential control and the addition of metal nanoparticles.